Electrical issues everywhere maybe?

[AlexGK]

Hi, I just joined here recently as the proud owner of a Forest River trailer. We have a 2015 32’ Salem. I got it at a “good deal” from a dealer in 2019 because the A/C & furnace didn’t work. Also the battery wouldn’t stay charged but the dealer showed us how we could keep a battery charger on the battery while plugged into shore power to keep everything running smoothly except the A/C and furnace. Someone else told me at the end of the first season with it, that my converter was no good, so I brought it to an rv parts place and they recommended a WFCO 55 amp main board assembly with auto detect model WF-8955-AD-MBA, to replace the old 30 amp converter, which I bought and installed. This fixed the issue of having to have a charger constantly on the battery but both the ac unit and furnace still only run for a minute or two (I can hear it in that vent below the oven with the furnace on) but then they turn off and never start again, no matter what I do with the thermostat. Also, when I went to lower the electric jack, the 30amp fuse blew instantly when I pressed the retract button. I replaced the fuse and it did it again and then the battery is now not giving any power out to anything, although it is a brand new deep cycle. I’m not very experienced with this as it’s our first Trailer and have been learning as I go. This trailer has definitely been a teaching tool but now I am confused as it seems like fixing an issue has caused more issues. I guess I am wondering if anyone has had these problems themselves or did I buy a lemon? Well, I know I bought a lemon but is there any hope for it, or do I have major problems? Thanks

 

[old timer]

The only suggestion I can offer is maby ask to troubleshoot one issue at a time,I think a blown fuze is typically a hot wire touching ground.I would take a look at the switch that controls the jack .
I am new to the modern camper also,I like the old dependable crank jack.

 

[Underboss]

You posted that there is no power from the battery to anything? Did you put a 12v tester on the battery? If its still good, follow your grounds and make sure they are good

 

[AlexGK]

The only suggestion I can offer is maby ask to troubleshoot one issue at a time,I think a blown fuze is typically a hot wire touching ground.I would take a look at the switch that controls the jack .
I am new to the modern camper also,I like the old dependable crank jack.

Thank you and I am with you on that one. In my experience, ive never had issues with a hand crank. Except once when I broke both my arms. But I had bigger problems then.

 

[AlexGK]

You posted that there is no power from the battery to anything? Did you put a 12v tester on the battery? If its still good, follow your grounds and make sure they are good

Ok I will do that. Thank you sir.

 

[GTS225]

And if you do have 12 volts at the battery terminals, follow the 12 volt plus wire. Somewhere close to the battery should be a fuse holder with a 30 amp fuse in it. I suspect it's blown, being as you blew the jack fuse twice in succession. The main probably gave out on the second over-current.

Now; as to the electric jack.......is this a tongue jack, or a leveling jack? I'm asking to ascertain if you're attempting to lower more than one jack at a time, with the one switch.

Oh.....and Alex.....I suggest you do business with this dealer as little as possible. It's obvious that they didn't want to repair the issues with a 9-year-old camper, and passed the problems along as a "good deal".

Roger

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Buying anything "as is where is" can save a bundle, but only if you take the time yourself to fix what is wrong!

Everything you have mentioned so far sounds? Minor to me! Take one problem at a time and all will be fixed with time.

If the battery is low on charge amperage draw will increase, in turn fuses blow if close to load requirements.

Are you sure you installed the converter properly?
Have you checked all 12v fuses?

To troubleshoot any part of your 12v system, you need 12v to the fuse buss. (Number one priority)

 

[newmarokie]

Be sure and chck the circuit breaker on the inverter if the battery is weak/dead

 

[John Burke]

Concerning your lift power issue, if you run the hitch to the top, it can blow the fuse when it hits the stop. I have gone thru 3-4 fuses that way. I finally learned to watch where the hitch stops when coming up and then just tap the switch until it gets to the end. Make sure you are pushing the switch for the down or extend instead of up or retract.

 

[AlexGK]

Thank you all for the help. I’ve been working late nights trying to finish a job at work the rest of this last week and hadn’t had time to investigate further on the trailer. Last night and this morning I went back out there. I checked the voltage with a multimeter and the battery was pretty low so threw a fully charged one on there that was sitting there and put the other one on the charger. Then I checked continuity by putting one multimeter lead on the negative battery cable end, (after I disconnected it from the battery), and the other lead on the trailer frame and got a beep that confirmed it was grounded to the trailer.
But then I did the same thing with the end of the positive cable when it was disconnected from the battery and also got a signal when I touched the other lead to the frame???? I then crawled under there and not far back I found a chewed up section of wire that was bare and touching just a tiny corner of the frame. We have pack rats in this area that love chewing on wires so I’m thinking that’s what happened. I replaced that wire and now most of my problems are gone except the furnace not staying on, and the tongue jack. Everything seems to be running and I’m not getting any breakers tripping at the panel.
At least that’s what I think was causing issues because everything seems to be running now so far except that furnace and tongue jack, although the stabilizer jacks weren’t coming up at first, but when I kept the toggle held down they started moving after about 30 seconds of continuously running it on the front, and about just as long on the back one.
Based upon the comment above, I think I had over extended the tongue jack. It’s an old Lippert and after replacing the fuse again and immediately blowing it when I tapped the retract button. I then tried to manually lower it from the top nut with the rod they provided and it wouldn’t move at all, so I had a bright idea and thought that this needs my big ratchet. This almost immediately caused the nut to snap off and get stuck in the socket. Long story short, I jacked up the trailer further with my floor jack and put some 6x6 blocking underneath. Then took the whole jack off and opened it up. It was a mess. Over extended off the threads and moisture must’ve gotten in there because it was rusted a bit inside and there was little bits of metal in there as well that had broken off. I’m just going to get a new tongue jack or maybe put an old manual crank one that I already have on there. The furnace I’m going to just go through and check one thing at a time like was suggested I do with everything. Thanks!